主妇 (zhǔ fù) — housewife; hostess (of a household or social ev…

Definition

noun

housewifehostess (of a household or social event)

Measure word · 个

主妇，。
Tā shì yí wèi zhǔ fù, měi tiān zài jiā zhào gù hái zi.
She is a housewife and takes care of the children at home every day.
主妇。
Zhè wèi zhǔ fù zuò de cài fēi cháng hǎo chī.
The dishes this housewife cooks are very delicious.
主妇，。
Zuò wéi zhǔ fù, tā měi tiān dōu yào zuò hěn duō jiā wù.
As a housewife, she has to do a lot of housework every day.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

“主” gives the sense of presiding over the household, and “妇” denotes a woman; together they mean a woman who hosts or manages the home.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 婦; 妇 is its simplified writing.

女帚婦

Meaning part形符xíngfú

女女nǚwoman

Sound part声符shēngfú

帚

帚zhǒu婦fù

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 婦 pairs 女 (woman) with 帚 (broom), and the Shuowen reads it as a woman holding a broom. The simplified 妇 is a shorthand.

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